Ours had a vertical support bar, no worries at all. Then again, once you go with Hullavators, you never look back.
I’m not understanding why you can’t unpin them. Are the newer “Pro” ones that much easier to unpin? If so, sell you old one online and buy a set from @Marshall , you won’t regret it.
We unpin ours at boat launches just to reduce the chance of theft.
Seriously, the Hullavator is a game changer, so much more so than a new paddle or any new gizmo, they are just that good.
Will search for videos on the partial disassembly, to a) See exactly what is involved & b) How much time it takes to reattach.
Been thinking about what Celia, you, and others have said. If there was no issue with it fitting in the garage, it would have been purchased years ago.
There are lots of brands of car service ramps. I’ve seen some with a central platform and removable ramps. That might be interesting too.
Hi Wolf,
Still think that’s my best option. But as you can see in my reply to NotThePainter, the pendulum is inching back to Hullavator Pro.
Hi Varmintmist,
Step are too high, plus that one doesn’t look stable enough to hold me & my kayak.
Have a 7 1/2" high industrial stool, and found out many years that using it to load the kayak was a no-go. (Whichever knee takes the 1st step, cannot handle it.) Steps have to be in increments of 4" or less.
The nice thing about the forum is that you get a lot of options to consider. I have several friends who really like their Hullavators. If you buy used, be advised that the air struts can apparently fail, just like the struts that hold a car’s hatchback open. Others here should have more info on what to look for.
I probably gripe more about unpinning and repinning the cradles than most. But the mileage loss is a fairly powerful argument not to make long highway drives with the cradles up and not carrying a boat.
The process is quite simple, one pin, the only thing that was causing creative language was getting it to line up fully. Rookie had the trick that worked for me, get onto stool or stepladder so that I am at the same height, and am eyeballing the holes for the pin from the side.
I have to pull it out a bit once it is place so that the hole is fully clear. May or may not have to happen with newer ones but still quite manageable. It sounds like Rookie takes hers down after every/most paddle. I pull into my back yard so no issue.
To be honest, even if I had a garage I would likely leave the boat up after a long day on the water, worry about the rest the next morning.
It takes no more than 5 sec per Hullivator to remove the pin: rotate and pull and then lift off the Hullivator. Putting the Hullivator back on takes maybe 20 sec per Hullivator because you need to align the holes, its just that easy. And I’m working above my head when removing/installing each Hullivator (when mounted on my 1996 Land Rover Discovery, the kayak rack is more than 6’ off the ground).
I don’t happen to be able to work above my head, in fact at my size and height the cradles are heavier than would make that feasible anyway. OPer spoke about imperfect knees in one post, may have a similar problem for other reasons.
How about these stackable fitness steps? Get as many as you need.
The Step (Made in USA) Stackable Aerobic Exercise Platform with Non-Slip Surface and Nonskid Feet to Prevent Sliding https://a.co/d/9N491kf
I found these wooden nesting steps, too. If you know someone handy with woodworking, maybe they can make some for you cheaper.
If a ramp is preferable, maybe a pet ramp? Also something a woodworker can make.
Just throwing out ideas for you. Hope you find something that works for you.
I only mentioned the height, hoping to impress that removing and installed the Hullivator racks is really, really easy.
It takes no more than 5 sec per Hullivator to remove the pin: rotate and pull and then lift off the Hullivator. Putting the Hullivator back on takes maybe 20 sec per Hullivator because you need to align the holes, its just that easy. And I’m working above my head when removing/installing each Hullivator (when mounted on my 1996 Land Rover Discovery, the kayak rack is more than 6’ off the ground).
My rack would be about 1/2’ shorter, but I have a 7 1/2" high stool to help with access.
Less than a minute, really? You guys are putting out a persuasive argument; tempted to go out to REI, to get some more answers,
- Have to replace my factory crossbars with Thule ones … which ones?
- Do I need longer than normal crossbars to accommodate the Hullavator Pro?
Still need to see a video of this Celia, but I’m leaning heavily now in this direction. Even if mowog75 reattach estimate is off by 5x, the loading/unloading for any given day will be faster than most alternatives.
I use a roller loader on the second side, when I am carrying two boats. I actually don’t find it much of a hassle, been using it for years and once I gt the boat started it goes up fast. Comes down the same way.
But getting the roller loader in place and suctioned cupped takes about the same time as remounting the cradles. Once the cradles are in place the rest is physically a lot easier even if not necessarily faster.
I do cheat a bit and hit the pins with some kind of lubricant here and there.
I wish I had pictures or a video to show how easy it is. Once you have taken the kayak off, with the rack still extended down over the size of the vehicle, remove the pivot pin.
Reinstalling is a bit more work because you have to align the hole in the extended Hullivator arm assembly with the mounting bar but once you get the hang of it, it really only take about 20 to align the holes and insert the pin.
No, you do not need longer arms to accommodate the Hullivator. The picture of the Hullivator installed on my Discovery are of the original Land Rover bars, not Thule and they do not extend beyond the vehicle. Sorry for the fuzzy picture of the mount assembly on the bars, but its all I have.
I lay the car blanket and a towel over the doors so my lowered cradles are not resting directly on the side of the car. But I suspect I am not alone in that, and a car blanket lives in there year round anyway.
One other thing to note re the pictured Discovery above, that vehicle has far straighter sides vertically than most of the newer SUV’s. My bars do not extend beyond the width of the car, but the cross bar has to have a few inches beyond the tower for the end to be above that.
You make a good point Celia, the Disco is quite straight up and down. I would imagine that the Thule bars would have to be about the same width of the vehicle.
Mark
Shed Mountain Ale please, on tap, or a decent single malt. Thank you very much…
we met a guy at a boat launch that loves to buy them ‘broken’ an craigslist, then install new gas struts. Thule doesn’t sell the struts but somebody in Canada sells something that works.
Here’s the system we had for the Jeep. It was up high so strapping was a challenge. Hullivators are a game changer.
Putting in the support bar
Loading the boat. That was a light boat, around 40 pounds IIRC. Later, when @NotThePainter got his 63# Cetus it was more difficult. I ran point on the front end to make sure it didn’t slip off the side. That happens only once then you take precautions.
This is why I still prefer the Roller Loader. One point of contact to control in the back, and once past the initial heft between the wheels the boat drops down directly over the rear glide pads. Or in my case the rear saddles with felt glued to them for sliding - the 2020 redesign of the Rav4 actually left the roof tilting a bit down in front. So I switched the glide pads and the saddles.
I’ve never used Hullavators so I don’t want to sound like I’m knocking something I don’t even have experience with. But a friend had to replace the air struts on his, and just be advised that once you find a source of struts that fit, installing the replacement struts is not easy. You have to find some way to compress the air strut and hold it in the compressed position to install. This might also be a reason to remove the Hullavators when not in use. Storing them out of the heat and weather might prolong the life of the struts. Hullavator users can chime in on their experience with reliability. Maybe my friend was just unlucky to have his fail.
Here are a couple of videos my friend found when he was learning about replacing the air struts.
Hullavator repair.
At the launch we take them off to discourage theft.
We keep them off when not paddling so MPG doesn’t take a hit . It keeps noise down too.
Anything left baking in the sun will take a hit. Probably best to remove them when not in use.